O’Regan in, Philpott re-tasked: PM shakes up cabinet

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is shaking up his cabinet in a major shuffle a month ahead of Parliament’s return, moving a star cabinet minister to a new role with Indigenous Affairs and bringing in a rookie MP and close friend to lead the Veterans Affairs portfolio.

Jane Philpott is being moved from the Health portfolio into a new role as Minister of Indigenous Services, while Newfoundland and Labrador MP Seamus O’Regan becomes the new Veterans Affairs minister and associate minister of National Defence.

Ginette Petitpas Taylor, previously parliamentary secretary to the minister of Finance, is the new minister of Health, while Carolyn Bennett has been sworn in as minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.

Carla Qualtrough becomes the new minister of Public Services and Procurement. Kent Hehr was shuffled out of Veterans Affairs and becomes the new minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

It was widely expected that Trudeau would give O’Regan a cabinet posting so Newfoundland and Labrador would maintain a presence in cabinet. Trudeau told reporters Monday after the ceremony that O’Regan has been a strong voice for the province in the House of Commons.

O’Regan, a former television host for the CTV program Canada AM, has been in the spotlight this year after accompanying Trudeau on a controversial trip last year to the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas. Shortly after becoming an MP, O’Regan received treatment for alcoholism at a wellness centre, and said he’s since adopted an “alcohol free lifestyle.”

The MPs were sworn into their new cabinet roles at Rideau Hall Monday afternoon.

A shuffle had been expected since Judy Foote resigned from the Public Services and Procurement cabinet post last week, announcing also that she would step down as an MP after Parliament returns in September. Foote has been on a leave of absence since April and cited family health reasons for her resignation.

Foote’s ministry has been plagued by problems with the beleaguered Phoenix pay system, which have led to tens of thousands of pay mismanagement cases since the government brought the new payment system online last year.

Trudeau called it a “difficult file” but said Qualtrough has been a successful minister in her past role.

The government also is striking a new working group of ministers to review laws and policies related to Indigenous people. That will be chaired by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould; both Philpott and Bennett will be members.

The creation of two new departments ahead of Parliament’s return signals a stronger focus on reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada.

Trudeau said the new ministries provide an “updated structure that is more in keeping with the nature of reconciliation,” and show the government is “serious about taking the right steps to move beyond the Indian Act.”

“There is a sense that we’ve pushed the creaky old structures around INAC about as far as they can go,” he said.

According to background materials provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, the government is splitting up Indigenous Affairs into two new departments so the government can work to improve socioeconomic conditions for Indigenous people and advance Indigenous self-government – something it says it can’t do through “existing colonial structures.”

Dissolving Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada is a response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, and would be a “next step” toward ending the Indian Act.

In her new role, Philpott will be specifically tasked with improving the quality of service delivery to First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. Bennett will meanwhile lead a consultation on how best to split the department into two. That will help determine whether services for Indigenous people from other departments, such as Health, would be rolled into Philpott’s department.

Dissolving the department will require legislative changes, and mandate letters for the two new positions are expected to be released publicly sometime in the next few weeks.

Trudeau was meanwhile circumspect on the possibility of a kicking an MP out of his caucus. He said the government Whip’s office and Parliament’s human resources office are both engaged in a formal process to deal with sexual harassment allegations a staffer has levelled against Calgary MP Darshan Kang.

The Hill Times reported Sunday that Kang is expected to be booted from the Liberal caucus in the coming days.